Photo by anokarina
Good morning, Washington. Holy crap, the Wizards won last night?
The Adrian Parsons Project: In the past, we’ve called him gaunt, pallid, cadaverous and ghostly. Fronting this week’s City Paper, though, Adrian Parsons is a “freedom fighter” and an “icon” of the voting-rights movement. And perhaps, after his 25-day hunger strike last month, he is. In Kriston Capps’ profile of the performance artist, Parsons is credited with getting more attention for D.C. statehood than the group DC Vote ever could have. OK, but how much of that attention is about Parsons himself?
Shields Up, Captain?: Citing a spate of violence against its drivers, Metro is considering installing protective barriers at the front of its buses, the Post reports. Drivers have been “spat upon, cursed, punched, pepper-sprayed and grabbed by the throat,” police tell the Post. Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), who sits on Metro’s board, is skeptical that the polycarbonate shields, 100 of which are set to be tested this spring, would be effective.
Loose Licensing: WAMU’s Patrick Madden continues his series on the District’s job creation tactics with a look at the recent glut of people with commercial driver’s licenses. Over the past few years, Madden reports, D.C. has ladled out $800,000 to three firms that specialize in CDL training as part of its compliance with U.S. Labor Department requirements. Except, the results are pretty thin. “We were sending 4,000 people in a year last year to WMATA. 90 got hired,” DOES chief Lisa Mallory tells Madden.
Briefly Noted: Tuesday evening blaze rips apart Potomac, Md. home … Body found in Hyattsville creek … Occupiers not going away anytime soon if they can help it … D.C. mother charged with sexual assault on teenage son’s friend … Pelecanos’ latest is “smart, cooly efficient and streetwise” … Shootout on Interstate 95.
This Day in DCist: Last year, the Mormons sold WTOP, and we started ginning ourselves up for The Dismemberment Plan reunion. In 2010, the D.C. Council started moving forward on establishing medicinal marijuana dispensaries, and the city finished updating parking meters.
